Surprise!
by Kawachan7
Summary: Jayne finds out River has a baby, and then River is recaptured by the blue hands. But why isn't the crew doing anything? And who is the mysterious inter-planetary murder who seems to be after River's daughter? May eventually be Rayne.
1. Chapter 1

Surprise

Chapter 1

I expanded my mind to cover the ship, seeing where all the people were. Mal and Zoe had gone planet-side to meet with Badger. Simon was out getting more of his useless drugs for me-little did he know that in the past six months we've been traveling on Serenity the drugs had only made me crazy, my consciousness lost so I could do little more than keep the illusions cast on myself. Kaylee was with Inara in her shuttle, and Jayne was in the Mess Hall cleaning his girls. I wouldn't be bothered in my room, and I was relieved to be able to drop the illusions cast to rest and save energy for a few minutes until Inara or Kaylee came to check on me for Simon. I was absolutely exhausted. I had been casting illusion upon illusion for the past six months, catching a bit of rest here and there. Sometimes I threw fits, throwing things and screaming, just to get them to leave me alone. However, no matter how exhausted I was, when I looked into the icy blue eyes of my daughter I knew it was all worth it.

I knew I wouldn't be able to care for the five week old infant for long, and if Simon kept giving me the meds it might poison my baby through my milk. But I also knew that once I told Simon would take over care of her and Mal might even kick us off the ship. I was torn between escaping planet-side where I knew my baby would be safe or staying in my home, Serenity, where it was practically guaranteed my baby would get hurt. In the end, I knew Serenity was where we belonged, no matter the danger. I cast the illusion up again and fell into a restless sleep. I only slept to pass the time, as holding up such a complex illusion gave me no rest, even in my sleep. I had fitful dreams of the Academy, flashes of the blue hands, the mind-breakers, the beautiful blonde-haired blue-eyed beauty who convinced me he was there to help me, to save me, only to brutally force my purity to him and implant me with his spawn. When the mind-breakers found out, they pushed harder and harder, not knowing that the blue hands had planned it all along.

My baby's soft cries woke me hours later. I brought her from her makeshift crib to my bed, laid down, and let her suckle until she was full. I thought of my hunger while she was still inside of me and the numerous times Jayne or Wash had caught me in one of my midnight excursions to the kitchens. I knew Wash would accept my baby, tell her fantastical stories about dinosaurs on Earth-that-was. Kaylee would, too, as she was a playful spirit. She was the sun; she always burned brightly and happily, and a baby would make her even brighter. Inara would like her, and when she was older she would enjoy teaching her, as Mal would call it, 'whoring arts.' Jayne would find it as more reason to kick to moon-brain off of the ship, although he may come to accept her; even teach her about weapons. Mal wouldn't like it at all; he would most likely kick us off his Serenity. I just hoped I could get them to understand, as mine and my baby's life depended on them, and I had no idea what I would do if we weren't allowed on Serenity.

I was exhausted, way too exhausted to do anything; I couldn't cast out my senses, I couldn't keep up the illusion; so I fell asleep with my baby curled up next to me, my first restful sleep in a long time. After a blissful, dreamless sleep I woke up slowly. I felt refreshed, truly awake for the first time over six months. Since I was awake, I immediately started to cast out my senses, only to be blocked by a confusing wall; the man-called-Jayne was standing next to me, his emotions so overpowering that I couldn't focus on anything. His words were the biggest shock of all.

"What in the gorram hell is that!?!?!"


	2. Chapter 2

Surprise

Chapter 2

(A/N: River is going to be OOC. It's necessary to the story line that she is different than she was before, because her pregnancy plus the drugs plus the exhaustion made her crazy. And I don't really know how to make Jayne IC, but I'll try my best with the situation I've given them. I don't really know what's going to happen yet- I find out as I write it. It's not planned out, but it probably won't be a very long story. I suffer from non-suspense-itis, so I can't write anything longer than a few chapters, but I'll try. Plus, for now River is just going to refer to her baby as 'my baby' as she hasn't named her yet. And: to Dione Robertson, I hope you don't mind that I'm using some of your ideas-I kind of didn't know where to go with this.)

*~*~*~*

I threw out my senses, relieved to find that the others were still asleep- although if Jayne kept yelling, they would wake up. I set my baby on the bed and, as fast as I could without waking her up, got off the bed and forced Jayne to the wall. He wasn't afraid of me, but my abilities added onto his shock.

"How did you find her?" I asked him, afraid for mine and my baby's lives but determined not to show it.

"I ain't been sensin' nothin' from over here, and when I was goin' to the Mess Hall I smelled somethin' I ain't since I was last at home an' my ma's young friend had her babe. I got to wonderin' an' here we are," Jayne told me. I sensed the tinge his words left in the air, and felt truth in them. He wasn't lying, which relieved me. My hands had started shaking, and Jayne felt it. He grabbed my shaking hands, concerned.

"I ain't lookin' for no trouble," he told me. "I'll help you in any way I can, stand up for ya 'gainst the Doc an' Mal, if it comes to that. My girls'll be happy ta help ya, too. An' if Mal kicks ya off, ya can always go stay with my Ma. She always loves the young 'uns, and she'd be happy to take care of you an' your little 'un." Jayne comforted me, which I was thankful for. Having to hide everything had really put a toll on me, and I had reached beyond my limit. I let all my bottled-up emotions out, crying my eyes out into Jayne's shoulder, absolutely soaking his t-shirt.

My cries woke my baby, and she started wailing. I rocked her in my arms to quiet her, and Jayne came over to look at her. He looked at her still-crying face for a minute before giving her his finger to suck on, which quieted her down immediately. I gave him a smile, drying my tears. I wondered at the fact that Jayne had so readily accepted my baby, and hoped the others would accept her too.

"What's her name?" Jayne asked me.

"I-I haven't thought of one yet."

"Who's her father?"

"A friend of the blue hands. He didn't fight the Academy and they had him carry out their plans. I didn't know his real name- he called himself Toshiro. I never knew he was lying because the mind-breaker's machines kept my powers from working."

"The mind-breakers?"

"They were the ones who tried to get in my head. When Simon came to rescue me they had been progressing to a higher level."

"Why?"

"Because they found out about her."

"Oh." No more words were needed. A comfortable silence fell over the room, and I put my baby back in her crib. I sat down o my bed and started weaving the intricate layers of the illusion. I made it a little bit simpler, as Jayne had been my main concern with his heightened senses. Jayne looked at me in amazement as my baby disappeared from all of his senses. He could still catch a bit of her but she was completely masked otherwise.

"Thank you," I said. "Thank you so much. You may save our lives. I will always be grateful for what you're doing for me."

"Ain't nothin' but common courtesy. Gotta protect the little 'uns, that's the first rule back at home. Ma'd have a mad cow if she knew I done gone an' violated on'a her rules." Jayne replied before walking out of the room, no doubt heading for the Mess Hall to get his food. I laid back in my bed, falling, yet again, into a restless sleep.

*~*~*~*

I woke up the next morning to knocking on my door. After feeling who it was, I walked over and let my brother in. He was relieved that I didn't seem crazy yet, although I would have to make him think I was with his current plans for me. I pretended to be oblivious to what he was doing, casually looking down at the box in his hands and starting one of my 'fits.' I was glad acting had always come naturally to me and that acting like this was not hard for me. I tried to get him to go away quickly, as I could sense my baby's unease at my screams as she was waking up, and with my weakened illusion Simon might be able to hear her when she started crying.

After a good ten minutes of screaming and throwing things I was finally left alone with my baby. I soothed and fed her, feeling her calm down inside. I loved having her around; the purity of her mind, so simple and clean, soothed my own when my feelings got out of control. When Jayne approached the door I silently beckoned him in, shushing him into silence as my baby had just fallen asleep, dreaming of simple concepts like colours and shapes. I looked at the things in Jayne's hands in shock.

"I found some of these- my ma sent 'em a while back, she likes being prepared for anythin', an' I figured you could put 'em to good use," Jayne said. I was so overcome with happiness that I pulled him into a tight hug, a smile on my face.

"Thank you so much," I whispered in his ear. He had a bundle that had a soft blanket, a dozen cloth diapers, a gel ring to freeze and give to her when she started teething, a few little toys, a couple onesies and dresses, and a few other necessities for raising a baby. All things I couldn't have gotten on my own without suspicion. I expressed my thanks by throwing some of my happiness and gratitude at him, a habit I had picked up as a useful way to calm my baby. When he made a funny face I realized I had never done that to any of the crew before.

"Sorry about that. Sometimes I project my emotions at people. It's a useful way to calm her down."

"I'm fine. I ain't ever felt nothin' like that 'afore. Jus' a little shocked, 's all."

"What do you think?" I asked him, holding up my baby for him to see.

"What do I think of what?" He asked, confused. I realized that I still had the illusion cast and quickly dispersed it. Now he could see my baby in the little dress he had just given me for her.

"She looks right dashin', if I do say so myself." And we continued talking until everyone else had woken up and was headed for breakfast.

*~*~*~*

With my baby settled down with one of her new toys and Jayne sneakily sent from my room to the Mess, I started making my way to where everyone was: breakfast. I sat down in my usual seat beside Jayne, although my position made it hard not to turn to him and start talking about the baby caring methods he had shown me earlier.

We did look normal as we always did, though, on the outside to the rest of the crew. They suspected nothing. If he asked me for something I would ignore him until he started yelling, at which point I would calmly turn to him and say 'Did you say something?' at which he would get annoyed and ask someone else for it. If I looked at him, I disguised it with a crazy look as if I was considering eating him for breakfast, and he would get all frustrated and start raving about 'moonbrain.' I nudged his foot under the table and sent a little burst of suspicion at him through the others. He got the message: Tone it down. They think something's up- we're doing a little too much fighting. So we mostly ignored each other for the rest of breakfast.

*~*~*~*

Later that day we landed planet-side. We were on a small planet in the middle of a city, picking up some cargo for Badger. I decided to take a walk around the city. I wanted to take my baby so I brought a basket with the excuse of using it for shopping, when I actually used it to carry my baby in. I did step in a few stores, as may of my clothes were too big and I got a few dresses. I did admire a few baby dresses from across the store, but was unable to get them as there would be much suspicion. When I got back on the ship I set my baby in her crude crib and my new clothes on my bed. I took a shower in the bathroom across the hall, using the hot water before Simon used it all up.

When I was done I wrapped myself in a thin towel and opened the door to run across the hall into my room, only to bump into Jayne, who was coming out of my room. I picked myself up off of the ground where I had fallen, blushing fiercely. I bashfully walked around him into my room, throwing on one of my new dresses. I grabbed a brush and let Jayne into my room. I sat on my bed, struggling with my long hair. I was shocked when Jayne sat down behind me, took the brush from my hand, and started working through the tangles.

"Why were you in my room?" I asked him through the lulling feeling of the brush moving rhythmically through my hair.

"I was just puttin' some stuff in here I had bought for ya an' yer little 'un. I saw ya oglin' them little baby dresses at the store an' bought 'em for ya. I figured you didn't have much baby clothes, with her bein' a secret an' all, so I thought I may as well get you some, since I'm the only one can help ya out."

"You didn't have to-"

"Actually, I did," Jayne said, a little laugh in his voice. Ma'd right kill me if'n she thought I knew about someone needin' helpin an' didn't give 'em any. It's another rule of hers." Jayne finished my hair, which he had thoroughly brushed and the braided into two braids, one on each side of my head, which he had secured with some green ribbons that matched my dress. I hadn't had my hair done up since before the Academy, and it made me feel almost normal again. I sent my feelings of happiness towards him and gave him a hug, for me and my baby.


	3. Chapter 3

Surprise

Chapter 3

(A/N: Okay, I have to get this out of the way first. I love all of you people!!! As of right now, there are 12 story alerts, 5 favorites, and over 700 views. I especially want to give thanks to Dione Robertson and my cousins Steph and Jenna and little sister Alissa for helping me out of writer's block, the evil disease that randomly crept up on me. I now have a general idea for a plot and hope it will be at least a few more chapters. This was going to be an Easter present but I got writer's block then I went to my cousin's who helped me out of it and now here I am typing this up for you on her computer. I love you all, and happy reading!!!)

Months had passed since Jayne had found out about my baby; my five-week-old infant was now five months old.

With time came more challenges for Jayne and me to overcome. First she had started teething; she was crying all of the time and we had to constantly give her a frozen gel ring (and still do).Then she had started crying whenever she wasn't with Jayne or me, so I had to start extending my illusions so she could be with one of us at all times. She had learned to roll then crawl, which she had used to get out of her poorly made crib and follow Jayne or me when we left the room. Jayne had made a better crib from Kaylee's metal scraps, which he then covered with inconspicuous closet doors. We had always had trouble finding her nutritious foods since we had made the decision to wane her from my milk, because I could only stop Simon from drugging me for so long.

There were good things, however; like when she started smiling, giggling, and cooing, or when she had first called me 'mama' and she had even started calling Jayne 'dada'. When we were alone it almost seemed like we were a real family. Jayne visibly lightened up around her, especially when she called him dada. He had stepped in as her father figure, which I was eternally grateful for as if he had not she would never have one.

Shortly after Jayne had found out about my baby, he had surprised me with a camera so I could take pictures of her. I had been diligently documenting every moment of my baby's life. One day Jayne and I were sitting in my room taking pictures with my baby. When she was playing with Jayne on the floor, she pulled his shirt up, exposing the thin pink scar from when I had slashed him with a butcher's knife.

I was still crazy then, and I thought that he was Toshiro. Their eyes were the exact same blue colour, and I thought he was back and trying to deceive me again. I had the knife in my hand, and then he was on the floor; when I realized that he was not Toshiro, that he had no use for me past his assignment. Jayne had forgiven me when I explained the situation to him, a fact that made me very happy.

Thinking of that made me think of Toshiro, whom I often compared to a serpent. It hit me then; the perfect name for my daughter. I suddenly stood up, searching through a drawer full of papers and pictures. Jayne stood up too, worried that something was wrong. I finally found the paper I was looking for, searching another drawer for a pen. After scribbling some things out on the paper, I held out to Jayne proudly. He grabbed it from my hand and studied it for a minute. When he finished reading, he cocked an eyebrow and waved it in front of himself.

"Serpent's daughter?" he asked questioningly.

"Well, I often compare Toshiro to a serpent, and she is his daughter, and Shenan does have a nice ring to it…" I trailed off dumbly. When my baby was born, I had made a makeshift birth certificate, but never put a name on it. Now I had written her name in flowing calligraphy: Shenan Jane Tam.

I saw a change in Jayne's eyes when he realized I named her after him. Suddenly she seemed a little more real: a living child whose life was in our hands. Keeping her a secret could be saving her or killing her and neither of us knew which it was. Shenan pulling herself up on Jayne's pant leg and trying to get our attention broke us from our silence. I put her birth certificate back in the drawer and picked up the camera, snapping away.

*~*~*

Serenity was boarded planet-side, getting paid from a job we had just finished; a simple cargo drop. We were on a little planet called Avion, close enough to the core to be civilized but far enough to be anti-Alliance. Mal and Zoe were big enough intimidation for the small, relatively new businessman, so since Jayne was unneeded he went out to get ammo for his girls. I was getting groceries and a new dress. Jayne and I 'accidentally' ran into each other once we got off the docks and walked along the busy street together.

Shenan started cooing and pulling at my hair when we passed the window of a jewelry store. Seeing her reaction to the gems, I signaled for Jayne to go in. He reluctantly led us into the shining shop. Shenan, who I had not concealed off the ship, pointed me to what was probably the most extravagant necklace in the store. A huge white gold locket just covered in diamonds with a single opal in the shape of a heart was nestled in a velvet cushion in a display case.

"Shiny," Shenan said. The shop's owner came over.

"Ah, pretty girls with their eyes on a pretty piece," he said, appraising us and concluding we were a newlywed family. "I'll give it to you half price."

"Dada?" Shenan asked Jayne, directing her gaze at him. After trying to resist her puppy dog eyes, Jayne forked over the credits for his ammo and I my dress money. We had just enough money for the locket and got it engraved with Shenan's initials, SJT.

After putting the locket on an adjustable gold chain (on the smallest setting) and onto Shenan's little neck we thanked the shop owner and hurried out before we were late getting back to Serenity. After ten minutes of weaving our way through the dense crowds, we reached the edge of the docks. Jayne went on and I waited another five minutes before starting to cast the illusion and going on my way to Serenity. A few minutes later, I was in my room, relieved of the heavy groceries and setting Shenan down for a nap. Almost like clockwork, Simon called my name for a new drug treatment he had found.

I sighed and resigned myself to Simon's drugs.

(A/N: I hope that was good. Not much action, but one I wanted to make the story longer, and two I wanted to develop a family connection between them. Now about the name. I based Toshiro with his blonde hair and blue eyes off Draco Malfoy so the serpent thing, Slytherin and all. I used an English-Chinese translator online, serpent came up with she as the pronunciation, and daughter was ai or nan, so I chose the second one. I put them together; just pretend it is Chinese for serpent's daughter. Hope it was okay, I tried to make it long but had a VERY VERY bad case of writer's block.)


	4. Chapter 4

Surprise

Chapter 4

(A/N: Yes, my loyal reviewers and 1,500 viewers, 6 favs, and 17 alerts. I love you all. I am not going to beg for reviews, because it is pointless and immature. I love feedback and all, but I know that my life is really busy and when I read something I rarely have the time to type up a review. I understand why people don't do it. I am now dodging flying shoes and swines being thrown at me for my absence. Add crazy little people (little sis and two peeps), spending a weekend at a friend's house, schoolwork stress, and everyday life stress and I still don't have a reasonable excuse. I blame it on Swiper-Becca and my BtVS addiction.)

I hadn't been using my powers other than masking Shenan and sensing if anyone was coming near my room, so I didn't see it coming when someone grabbed me from behind. I tried to fight, but their accomplice had grabbed my legs. They dragged me into the alley and tied me up before tossing me in the back of a ship. I tried to extend my conscienceness towards the men, but the huge feeling of an overwhelmingly angry nothing filled my brain.

I tried futilely to escape. I was glad I had left Shenan with Jayne this time, or she would be in the clutches of the Alliance. She would be poked and prodded, out of curiosity of the abilities of their best assassin and only witch, or out of malevolence towards all life forms, to which many of the Academy's doctors held true. I hoped for a way out, sending a weak telepathic message to Jayne and the rest of the crew.

'Help'

*~*~*

Jayne was walking along the streets, looking for the Riv-girl to show her Shenan's new tooth that was coming in. All of a sudden he heard the Riv-girl's voice in his head, one of those mind-messagey things she used during emergencies. He knew from the strained sound of her voice something was wrong, and knowing how strong she was it had to be really bad.

He wasn't too far from the docks, so it didn't take him long to get back to Serenity. He made sure Shenan was staying quiet in Riv-girl's room before he went out to the mess where the crew was already gathered and talking. They were debating what was wrong with Riv-girl.

"So all'a ya'll heard that mindy-helpy-thingy, too?" Jayne asked, effectively quieting the crew and drawing their attention to himself.

"Yes, we heard River's telepathic cry for help," Answered Simon.

"We think she might have been recaptured by them purple-bellied hun dans," said Mal.

Jayne knew this couldn't be good. They had planned her getting pregnant with that man's devil spawn and get tortured harder and harder. They might be after Shenan, too. This was not good. This was very, very bad. He ran to Riv-girl's room, the rest of the crew looking on in confusion. He picked up Shenan, who was intact and whole, and cradled her against his chest. He had grown to love her like she was his own daughter. They were a family, Riv-girl, Shenan, and him. He couldn't let them take Shenan, too. He had to do all he could to protect her.

That's what Riv-girl would have wanted.

*~*~*

Jayne waited until dinner. All the crew was sitting down, waiting for him to start their meal. He walked into the mess with Shenan, who was chewing on her locket, and set her down on the table. He acted nonchalant while closely studying the crew's reactions. Mal was the first to speak, naturally.

"Jayne, is that there a baby on my table?"

"Yeah, I's pretty sure she is."

"What is it doing here?"

"I's watchin 'er, a' course."

"Why are you watching a baby?"

"Well someone's got to."

"How long has it been on my ship?"

"I don't know, prob'ly about ten months or so, not countin' when she was in her ma's stomach. Shenan, get that locket out of your mouth. Ya're gonna break it. I paid good money for that thing."

"Ya, dada! On neck now!"

"Ya're a good girl, yah know that? prob'ly got it from ya's ma."

Before Shenan could reply, Mal had decided enough was enough. He wasn't going to be ignored on his ship by his merc! Let alone for a baby!

"WHY THE GORRAM HELL IS THERE A BABY ON MY SHIP CALLIN' MY MERC DAD?!?"

"I gotta take care'a her til her ma comes back."

"And who would that be?"

"The Riv-girl."

There was absolute silence after that. Everyone was absolutely flabbergasted, most of all Simon. His sister? A baby? Without his knowing? With the man-ape? Who was now calling her Riv-girl? It was just too much for him. Jayne waited uncomfortably for the outbreak he knew was coming, moving his hands over Shenan's little ears.

In comparison to the stark silence that had been before, there were now fireworks of many voices yelling over each other. He couldn't tell one person from another, not hearing a word of it.

"SHUT UP!" He screamed. "Ya gone an' upset Shenan." He cradled her, letting her suck on his finger til she calmed down and stopped her tears. The crew looked on in amazement as he calmed the crying infant in seconds. Having effectively calmed Riv-girl's baby down, he looked back up at the awed crew.

"Can we talk 'bout this like civilized folk, now, or do I haf'ta go somewheres else?" Jayne asked.

"How can we discuss this civilly? My little sister has had a child with a man-ape and is now captured by the blue hands who have a liking for torture!" Simon ranted.

"Ya think she's mine?" Jayne asked in confusion.

"Of course. She's been callin' you dad, hasn't she?"

"Well, I kinda fill in 'cuz her real dad is the scumbag friend of the hun dans who just captured her ma. I found out about her an' decided to help out the Riv-girl. We's kinda like a family now."

The room fell silent once again, the others absorbing the information.

"But.. why didn't she tell us? We could'a helped her."

"She knew you guys would take Shenan away from her. doc, ya know ya woulda made her give the baby up, with or without her consent."

"How did she keep all of this hidden from us?"

"She's got some real powerful witchy powers. I seen her doin' stuff like hidin' things an changin' papers with my own eyes."

Jayne let the information sink in, preparing himself for a long bit of questioning with a sigh.

*~*~*

(A/N: Yeah, It's a short chapter, the end sucks, I'm really tired and haven't been sleeping very well. I was planning on doing more, but I'm just too tired. I'll hopefully see you guys in views, reviews, and the next chapter!!! I promise it won't take as long for the next chapter to come out.)


	5. Chapter 5

Surprise!

Chapter 5

(A/N: This has been a long time and I apologize-my muse disappeared whenever I tried to write but reappeared when planning my costumes for Dragon*Con '09, a fact that I have been taking advantage of. I'm doing River's jumpsuity thingy when Simon rescues her from the Academy and Shilo Wallace from Repo! The Genetic Opera. And a Ravenclaw student. And planning a big sister from Bioshock 2. Plus I have been so busy working on moving that I completely forgot you guys! So, here is my story (Which is not cannon at all, JIC) And Dione, that was my plan all along... I did it on purpose... believe it!!! No, I didn't notice cuz I wasn't paying attention and I don't really even remember writing it, so I have no clue what I was planning, so that's it now... I'm running out of ideas for this, so do any of you have some ideas I can use? Oh, and I have a plot bunny for a new Teen Titans fic, so the next one may take a long time, too. Sorry!!!)

*~*~*~*

"How are the subjects reacting?" asked a man in a black suit, striding into the room and addressing on of the doctors at the big screen.

"They are reacting as expected. There were some problems with the larger one, but we increased the dosage and it's all under control now," the doctor answered.

"Good. Now make sure it stays that way." The man turned and, after a long look at the screaming girl in the chair across the room, strode out of sight.

*~*~*~*

Jayne had a nagging feeling in the back of his head, like he should be worried about something, doing something. He couldn't remember what was wrong for the life of him. River had gone missing, but he knew not to worry-his Riv-girl could take care of herself.

He looked down at the little girl in the chair next to him. She was very small for her age, but was already walking round and talking like a toddler. Two months she had been walking about without illusions about her existence. He looked around at the crew, who had generally come to accept Shenan and integrate her into their family.

He laughed when Simon grimaced at Shenan's accent. No matter what Simon tried he couldn't get rid of the rim accent that most of the crew had proudly ingrained into his beloved niece.

Once they were done with dinner he went down to the room that had been transformed into a nursery. He put Shenan in her crib as Kaylee, Simon, Zoe, and Wash went out to the town they were staying in for the next few nights. He was startled by the comm in the nursery activating.

"Jayne, you better come up to the bridge. Our contact has some information for us," Mal's voice crackled out from the small speaker. Jayne jumped up and pushed the 'talk' button.

"I'll be right up Mal," he replied. He ran up to the bridge, worried that something had Mal worried. He said a quick hello to Mal and looked up at the screen.

"What ya find us?" he asked the man on the screen, who had withheld his name for security reasons. Rather annoying, but had to be dealt with or they wouldn't have enough money for the upkeep of Serenity and her crew.

"Someone described as a young girl with a haunted look has been threatening people on multiple planets. She has been attacking young families with babies, and was said to be muttering insane nothings to herself suggesting herself as not in control in her actions. She was seen wearing a green jumpsuit and a mechanical device on her head with needles driven through her skull and face to keep it on. Your job is to protect a family on Ameril that we think will be targeted next. Pay will be hefty, but open to negotiation depending on the body count."

"Well, ya got yerself a mighty fine crew on the job," replied Mal. After saying goodbye to the man and shutting off the transmission, he lowered himself into a chair. "Jayne, go get the rest of the crew. I don't care what they're doing or how you do it, just get them here now."

*~*~*~*

Subject R. Tam woke up on a cold metal table. The brainwave regulating device had been temporarily removed from her head, making her slightly more coherent. She got a small flash of a baby in her minds' eye, but quickly forgot as the doctor walked into the room. She watched calmly as he came over with the brainwave regulating device, holding it out to put it on her head, looking rather afraid of a struggle.

R. Tam did not understand fear. Oh, yes, she felt it, as far as her psychic abilities allowed her to from other people, but she didn't comprehend it. She was unable to feel fear; the first successful experiment of completely stripping the subjects of fear. Fear was something to be scoffed at. did not feel fear and did not need to. Fear was for those who had things they needed to be afraid of. R. Tam had none. She was as close to invincible as they could make her.

She didn't make a sound or even blink as the needles drove into her face. Nothing to be afraid of, after all. She watched as the blue hands walked in and the men with them grabbed her without a word. She walked with them down the white halls of the lab and didn't even spare a glance at the extremely advanced technology in the ships around her. She made her way to the ship she would be using for this mission. The blue hands followed her into the ship, then proceeded to drill her on the procedure.

"So you will be going where?"

"Ameril."

"What is your mission?"

"Quick kill, in-and-out."

"And what is your target?"

"Serenity."

*~*~*~*

Jayne looked at the extravagant estate. Mal had gone inside to talk with the family, and he was guarding the outside with Serenity just in his field of vision. He looked up at the sky above Serenity and saw a ship getting ready to land right behind Serenity. Kaylee was good with engines, but he wasn't so sure she could protect Shenan from an Alliance unit. He grabbed his comm as he started running towards Serenity.

"Mal we have a problem! Alliance ship touching down by Serenity! I'm on my way over now!" he yelled into the device.

"I'll be over as soon as I can!" Mal's voice came from the other end. Jayne yelled a quick affirmative and picked up his speed. His muscles were strained to their limit and his lugs were burning for air. He was almost halfway there when he saw a small figure climb out of the Alliance ship and into Serenity. He cussed loudly and ran faster, if that was even possible. He reached the ship in a matter of minutes, but still feared he was too late.

He ran through the cargo bay and saw Kaylee at the inner door. She was in a bloody pool and her arm was bent unnaturally in several places, the bone sticking out of her skin. He stooped to check her pulse and, after confirming she was alive, ran to Shenan's nursery. She was gone. He got a feeling in his gut and ran to the mess hall. He saw a figure bending over the couch and heard a muffled cry.

Jayne was horrified as he realized that his fears had been confirmed. It was River. She was mumbling something that he couldn't quite keep up with, and he thought he heard some other languages in there too. What he did hear he didn't understand. She looked at him with a blank look in her eyes and an odd device on her head. There was blood trailing down from the needles, into her eyes, and down her face. He looked at Shenan and stopped breathing, his heart stopping. She was covered in blood and twisted all out of proportion, her tiny bones almost completely showing in spots. RIver had one hand around her neck, the other grasping onto a knife. He recognized it as the one she had cut him with before.

She slowly let Shenan go and turned completely to him. She suddenly sprang into action. It scared him to see her coming at him with that knife and nothing in her eyes, like her very soul was gone. He was frozen to the spot where he stood. she slashed precisely with the knife, missing ay vital spots and instead hitting the ones that bled most.

He blacked out, the last thing he saw was River standing over him, covered in blood.

*~*~*~*

(A/N: Really short. THis chapter just did not want to come out. I will hopefully explain in the next chapter. Not too long to the end, unless I get an idea *nudgenudgewinkwink* hopefully I can crank out the next chapter. But, like I said, out of ideas and evil plot bunny for another fic. I'm moving in less than two weeks, so I probably will write the chapters out then type them up next time I get a chance. Thank you for your never-ending patience with me!)


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